Porsche adds third driver to 2014 programme

24 June 2013

The 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours was barely committed to the history books when Porsche announced that it had added another key component to its line-up for the 2014 race.

The German marque revealed on Monday morning that current Rebellion Racing driver Neel Jani will join the already-confirmed Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas in next year's 24 Hours and World Endurance Championship squad, and will join the two Germans when testing of its nascent LMP1 contender begins later this year.

"Neel fits very well into our Porsche motorsport family,” LMP1 project chief Fritz Enzinger commented, “He is incredibly fast, has a wealth of experience in international long distance racing, as well as at the Le Mans 24 Hours, and he's a real team player.”

Jani's contract with Porsche will take effect from the start of July and covers the next few seasons, but will allow the Swiss ace to complete his 2013 programme with Rebellion. The former single-seater stalwart – who won races in GP2 before taking on test and development roles with Sauber and Toro Rosso in F1 – switched to sportscars when it became clear that his grand prix aspirations were unlikely to come to fruition, making his Le Mans 24 Hours in 2009 and joining the Rebellion operation the following year.

"To compete for Porsche in the WEC and at the Le Mans 24 Hours is a dream come true," Jani admitted, " Porsche is incomparable with any other marque in sportscar racing and I'm proud to now be a part of the Porsche works team.

“I'm looking forward to getting behind the wheel for the first time and contributing my test driving experience. My goal is to win the Le Mans 24 Hours and secure the WEC title with Porsche. I don't just want to build on Porsche's successful history, I want to add a new chapter."